| I tracked down a much-dubbed copy of Nausicaä and can see why Miyazaki renounced the New World cut. Turns out the "Sea of Corruption" (called "the Wasteland" in the print I saw) is actually filtering the toxins left hanging around after the Last World War, killing the world in order to save it, as it were. Princess Nausicaä has a lab under her castle where she is on the verge of figuring this out. The uncut film presents an ecological dilemma: the Tolmekian plan to destroy the jungle with a laser-spouting God Warrior will save the Valley of the Winds, but jeopardize Earth's long term recovery. No hint of this can be seen in the New World tape.
Another link between the film and Doris Piserchia's books I forgot to mention is the theme of the "flying woman." Besides talking to monstrous insects, conducting sophisticated biological experiments, and wielding a killer sword, Princess Nausicaä is a crack pilot, winging through the sky on a manta ray-shaped flying Segway called a "mehve" (or "cloud climber" in New World's translation). The exhilirating scenes of the Princess in flight recall the daredevil jaunts of Jade/Hinx in Star Rider and the orphan/Wyala in the Dimensioneers, who have a similar power to leap into the ether when necessary (soaring through wormholes, not just atmosphere). If trouble is afoot, Nausicaä just jumps on the mehve, stomps a footpedal, wrestles with the machine as it corkscrews into the air like a Harrier Jump Jet, then bolts off into the clouds. I confess I can't watch this without balling my fists like a teenager and yelling "F--ing cool!"
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Another link between the film and Doris Piserchia's books I forgot to mention is the theme of the "flying woman." Besides talking to monstrous insects, conducting sophisticated biological experiments, and wielding a killer sword, Princess Nausicaä is a crack pilot, winging through the sky on a manta ray-shaped flying Segway called a "mehve" (or "cloud climber" in New World's translation). The exhilirating scenes of the Princess in flight recall the daredevil jaunts of Jade/Hinx in Star Rider and the orphan/Wyala in the Dimensioneers, who have a similar power to leap into the ether when necessary (soaring through wormholes, not just atmosphere). If trouble is afoot, Nausicaä just jumps on the mehve, stomps a footpedal, wrestles with the machine as it corkscrews into the air like a Harrier Jump Jet, then bolts off into the clouds. I confess I can't watch this without balling my fists like a teenager and yelling "F--ing cool!"
- tom moody 7-03-2002 10:07 am